Lily's Day to Day
by AwkwardedOut
Summary: Pantherlily found a new life awaiting him on Earthland, and with it came new friends, new foes, new hobbies, and new woes. A collection of short stories regarding Lily's day to day.
1. Caught in the Rain

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

**Caught in the Rain:**

The sky had been a sullen gray all day, the dark clouds blocking out the sun, casting a gloomy atmosphere down upon the town below. The townspeople who normally set up stalls around Magnolia, peddling their wares, were closing up shop and preparing to go home in light of the impending downpour. Soon, the main street was devoid of people save for one blue-haired female.

Levy hurried down the cobbled lane. The air was heavy with the promise of rain, and she wanted to reach Fairy Hills before the storm hit. She contemplated breaking into a run to make better time, but the weather had been horribly humid for the past few days, and today was no different. Even the wind that preceded the storm did little to relieve her from the uncomfortable feeling of sweat and fabric clinging to her skin, and that had only resulted from walking quickly. She didn't want to think about how miserable she would be if she actually ran the remaining two blocks and steep slope back to Fairy Hills.

Levy tilted her head back and eyed the dark clouds warily. In the distance, she could see scattered streaks of lightning pierce the clouds' underside and head toward the earth, as if they were strikes from heaven. It was beautiful and terrifying, and not so long ago, she had come very close to experiencing the full effects of those bolts for herself.

A clap of thunder startled her out of her reverie, returning her attention to the road. It was then that a small dark shape rushed across her path and dove beneath a table at the open-air café to the right.

After Levy got over her surprise, her curiosity became peaked. She walked over to the tables and chairs set up outside. Kneeling down to look beneath one, she spotted a familiar black cat curled up under the piece of furniture. With some alarm, she noticed that the cat's entire body was shivering uncontrollably.

"Lily, what's wrong?" she asked, getting his attention. "Are you hurt?"

"N-no, I'm f-fine…" Lily stuttered. She noticed another bout of violent shudders rack his tiny body as thunder rumbled in the distance.

The concerned girl made the connection immediately. She was none too fond of storms herself, so she could sympathize with her friend. With a gentle smile, she reached down and drew the quivering ball of fur into her arms. She sat in one of the café's chairs, petting the furry bundle in an attempt to calm him down.

"Why are you out here alone?" she asked.

"I-I was j-just coming back from visiting the Exceed s-settlement." It was a decision he appeared to be sorely regretting. "I-I was hoping t-to be home before the thunder s-started."

Another boom sent him burrowing into her arms, paws pressing down his round ears, though Levy was sure it did little to block out the sound.

"Where do you live?" she asked, wondering if she could drop him off before it began to rain.

"On t-the other s-side of t-town."

She frowned. The storm didn't feel too far off now, and a trip to the other side of Magnolia would take a while, not to mention the journey back. On the other hand, at the top of the hill, warm squares of light called to her, promising a hot shower followed by hours with a good book in her lap—that was all it took to convince her. She stood up, grimacing as her skin peeled away from the plastic seat.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked when she started walking.

"Fairy Hills," she replied. "It'll start raining soon, and I don't think you should go back home in the storm. Don't worry though," she hurried to assure him. "You can stay the night with me."

Under normal circumstances, Lily would have objected, but the weather convinced him to quickly accept the generous offer instead.

* * *

Levy ran the last few feet to her home, ducking under the awning with relief. They had made it halfway up the hill when the first drops of rain fell. By the time they reached Fairy Hills, both the wind and the rain had picked up, soaking Levy's clothes and whipping hair in her face. Lily fared a little better, shielded by Levy's arms.

As they entered the building and the doors shut behind them, the sound of the howling wind and rumbling thunder became more subdued. Lily's trembling gradually subsided as he realized this fact. Levy took off her shoes and carried them to prevent trekking mud—Erza could get pretty violent about mud on her clean floors—as they made their way up the stairs.

"I'll give you the grand tour later," she told the cat she held, who was looking around curiously. This was Lily's first time inside Fairy Hills. He had heard from Charle that the place was a dormitory for female members of the guild, so he had had no reason to visit before.

"It's quite large," he commented, remembering the long lobby they had crossed to reach the staircase.

"It's also very well-equipped. There's a large public bath on the first floor, a kitchen for everyone to use, and a pretty big resource room in the basement. It's not as big as the one in the guild hall, but it still has a decent selection of texts."

They stopped in front of a door and Levy commenced rummaging in her bag, presumably searching for her key.

"Aha!" She pulled out the small object and inserted it into the keyhole. Turning the knob, the door swung open to reveal the room beyond. "My personal haven," she announced proudly, flipping the light switch.

The Exceed took in the space before him. There were books everywhere—crammed into floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that lined every wall; piled in haphazard stacks on the floor, some of which were taller than the girl herself; spread across her desk; occupying chairs… The only space devoid of texts was the ceiling, although Lily suspected that if it were possible, Levy would have hung books from there as well.

"Sometimes, I run out of space here and store my books on the shelves in the resource room," she confided in a whisper.

Pantherlily couldn't help smiling at the information. He climbed out of Levy's arms and hopped onto the wooden floor, hearing the door shut behind him as he tread further inside.

It was a very formidable collection of books, he thought, glancing up at all the literature and knowledge that surrounded him. A lot of the stacks on the floor were taller than he was, and their random placement made it difficult to navigate from this height, making the entire place seem like a maze. He also had to take care not to bump into anything, as some of the piles did not look altogether stable. And was it his imagination, or was that stack of particularly large texts teetering slightly?

He hurried past. It wouldn't do to get crushed by all those heavy tomes when he was in this form.

* * *

Meanwhile, in an apartment on the other side of the dark and stormy town, sat one lone figure.

Gajeel was slumped on the couch, shooting anxious glances across the room every few seconds. It was getting late and Lily still hadn't returned. After a while, the drizzle outside became a downpour, and he resigned himself to the likelihood that his cat had probably decided to stay the night with the other Exceed.

He was about to retire to his bedroom when a sudden, horrifying thought occurred to him. What if Lily had been on his way back to town when he got caught in the storm? Gajeel knew his cat was afraid of thunder, sometimes to the point of being incapacitated by his fear. What if he was stranded in the street somewhere, huddled up in a ball, cold and terrified?

_Lily was crouched in the dark and empty street, huddled over, wet and miserable as rain pelted down, lightning lit the sky, and thunder roared._

Gajeel shook his head fervently. No, Lily was at the Exceed village. He had seen that it was going to rain and decided not to come home for the night. Gajeel assured himself that that was all, and that there was no need to jump to conclusions.

A few seconds later, he sprang from his seat and began pacing the circumference of the room. But what if Lily _had_ tried to come back? What if he _had_ been outside when it began to rain? And worse, what if someone found him and decided to kidnap him? Anyone with eyes could see how awesome his cat was, and they'd obviously jump at the opportunity to steal him away. Gajeel's eyes widened as he began imagining the worst.

_Lily had collapsed in an alley, alone and terrified as predatory eyes watched him from the shadows. Suddenly, an old woman swooped in and picked up his cat. She had seen how amazing Lily was and decided to steal him away while he was too vulnerable to defend himself. Even though Lily tried to fight his way free of the old bat, he was weak from the constant boom of thunder and was no match for her. The hag kept a tight grip on him the entire way back to her home, allowing no chance for escape. When she opened the door to her house, she was greeted by several dozen cats._

_When the other cats saw that she had brought back this strange creature that was not one of them, they looked at him with gleaming eyes, plotting what to do with this new threat. Lily would be viewed as competition for their owner's attention. He would be bullied by the other cats, clawed, bit, and have his food stolen—all because they were jealous of how great he was._

Gajeel had a difficult time getting a grip on his imagination, and had to tell himself repeatedly that nothing like that would happen. Lily was a trained warrior and he was better than both the girl's and the Salamander's cats combined, so he could easily kick all those other cats' asses. The thought dispelled some of his fears, but some lingering doubts still remained. In the end, he decided to sleep on the couch so he could know right away when Lily returned the next day, because he _would_ return, even if he had to beat up the old woman and all thirty of her stupid pets to do it. That would teach them to try and take advantage of _his _cat.

* * *

The next morning, the weather had cleared up nicely, leaving the sky blue and sunny. The air was cool and refreshing after the previous evening's storm, promising several more hours of comfort before the humidity returned. It was at this time that the doors to the Fairy Tail residence were opened from within.

Levy stood at the entrance with Lily, who was preparing to depart.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for breakfast?" she asked.

Lily declined her offer. "I should probably get back to Gajeel. He'll be worried that I didn't come home last night."

"Okay. Remember, you can come visit anytime."

"Thank you, I will," Lily waved to the girl before descending the hill.

As she watched his retreating form, Levy tried to picture the normally fierce dragon slayer fretting over his companion like a mother hen. The mental image caused her to smile.

* * *

When Lily walked into the apartment, he saw Gajeel lying on the couch, tossing and turning restlessly in his sleep, the blanket in a heap on the floor. Lily found it a bit odd that the man wasn't asleep in his own bed, but decided not to wake him, even if he didn't look entirely comfortable on the piece of furniture.

Gajeel suddenly shouted a warning, "No! Get away from my cat, you crazy old bat!"

The exclamation halted Lily's approach. He immediately morphed into his combat form, whirling around to fend off the person Gajeel had indicated. However, he saw no one inside the small apartment aside from the two of them. Tilting his head back, he took a tentative sniff, but no foreign scents reached his nose, and he detected no hidden presence in the room. Perhaps Gajeel's heightened abilities were able to sense something he couldn't?

Lily turned to ask his partner where the enemy was only to discover that the man was still sprawled on the couch, eyes closed, breathing heavy. Gajeel was very obviously still asleep.

Shaking his head in exasperation, Lily returned to his smaller form. He picked up the discarded blanket and placed it over his friend, tucking in the edges so it didn't fall again. When that task was finished, he padded into the kitchen in search of breakfast.


	2. Another Rainy Night

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

AN: I'd to thank the readers who reviewed, as well as the ones who added the story to their favorites and alerts. So, thank you!

In this installment, nobody respects the sanctity of the bond between a man and his cat. Something of a follow-up to the first story.

**Another Rainy Night:**

Gajeel was a bit odd, something Pantherlily had discovered since coming to Earthland, but the Exceed had nonetheless learned to accept many of his strange habits. These habits included his need to instigate a fight at the guild hall at least once every day, his compulsive hoarding of shiny metal objects, as well as his regular ingestion of said objects, to name just a few. However, there was one practice to which Lily had yet to become accustomed. It was the most confusing one discovered thus far, and much to his chagrin, it took place on an annoyingly regular basis.

It was this activity that was currently being carried out in the apartment Lily shared with Gajeel. The latter was seated in the kitchen, turned away from the table, hair trailing down his back. Meanwhile, Lily was positioned on the tabletop behind his friend, a hairbrush in one paw and Gajeel's long black locks in the other.

"I swear you haven't brushed your hair at all since last week," Lily complained as he viciously pulled the bristles through the stubborn knots, tearing out tangles and roots alike.

"Hey! Not so hard," Gajeel growled as his head was pulled backward with the force of the tugs. "Besides, it's your fault for being gone all week."

"You could have done it yourself," the cat argued. "What did you do before I came to Earthland?"

"I just let it be," Gajeel replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

Lily could only regard the tangled mess before him reproachfully. He couldn't even remember how Gajeel had convinced him to perform this ritual in the first place, but it had been a constant pain in his ass from the very first. It would be so much simpler if the man would just cut off the long mane. Lily had even helpfully offered to do it for him many a time, but Gajeel always refused. If he had known beforehand that this would happen, he would have hacked off the annoying thing back when they had fought on Edolas. A flick of the wrist and his Buster Marm would have sliced clean through… Well, Gajeel had his iron dragon scales for preventing decapitation—that's what they were there for.

Realizing it was a hopeless dream, Lily let out a lengthy sigh before resuming his count. "One hundred and ninety-eight. One hundred and ninety-nine. Two hundred." Finished at last.

"Okay, your turn." Gajeel turned on his seat and plucked the brush from his paw.

At his words, Lily made a desperate dive off the table, but was grabbed in midair before he could make his escape.

"I told you, I don't want to be—"

The complaint subsided as bristles were applied to his fur, and he stretched out on the wooden surface—against his will, he reminded himself—while Gajeel commenced brushing him from the crown of his head to the tip of his tail.

Anyone who might have been watching the scene would have noticed an enthusiasm that Gajeel rarely displayed for anything outside of fighting, but to the solitary man, this act was almost as important as his brawls. After all, he had to keep his partner looking his best, because while it didn't matter what other people thought about his own appearance, he couldn't have anyone insinuating he didn't take good care of his cat. This was just one of the many necessary measures to that end.

Besides, the purring that emanated from the tiny body told him that the feline did, indeed, enjoy the attention, no matter what was said to the contrary. There was still the occasional grumbled protest from the Exceed, but Gajeel knew the truth.

* * *

Lily's body was small, so the task did not take much time. Once the ordeal had ended, he informed Gajeel that he would be heading out, and prepared to leave.

"You're not going to eat dinner first?" Gajeel asked, brows furrowing in a frown.

Lily shook his head as he looked out the window. His friend followed his gaze to the dark clouds in the distance, and he knew the other had immediately understood his concern.

"Fine," Gajeel huffed at last. "Just make sure you eat something when you get there. They'd better not think they can starve my cat and get away with it."

"I am not a child, Gajeel," he reminded the man. "I can take care of myself."

"Yeah yeah," Gajeel grumbled, returning to the kitchen and leaving Lily to chuckle at his protectiveness.

Not wasting any time, Lily grabbed his bag and left to meet up with his friend.

It normally took about an hour to reach the other side of town on foot. It would have been faster to fly, but he preferred not to be in the air on days like these, where he would be too close to all those frightening elements for comfort. And besides, he was making good time. Before he knew it, he was climbing the steps up to his friend's residence.

"You made it!" Levy stood at the entryway, clearly relieved to see he had arrived safe and sound. Her concern was probably due to the fact that on his first visit to the dormitory, he had been a shivering wreck that she had needed to carry there in her arms. It was an incident he tried not to dwell on, for the sake of his pride.

"Good to see you again, Levy," he greeted, following her into the building and up the stairs.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet."

"Great! You can eat with us." She checked her watch. "We're not set to start cooking for another hour, though."

"That's fine," he assured her as they reached the second floor landing and proceeded to her room, a route familiar to him by now.

Once inside, Levy made space for him at the small table in the back. The act consisted of picking up the stack of books that had been there originally and adding them to an existing pile on the floor. He saw her crouch in front of the volumes, eyes on the tower as it slowly leaned against the wall. Seemingly satisfied, she excused herself to go put the kettle on in the kitchen downstairs.

After she left, Lily looked around, noting that not much had changed since his last visit—that is, until something in the corner caught his eye. Hopping off his perch, he made his way over to the space and discovered it was a rather deep indentation on the hardwood floor. With a frown, he ran his paw over the groove.

The sound of soft footfalls alerted him to his friend's return.

"Something wrong, Lily?" Levy asked from behind him.

"Is this a new dent in your floor?" He was almost certain it had not been there previously.

"Huh? Oh, uh…"

When she didn't reply, Lily turned around in time to see the girl set a tray on the table before looking down in embarrassment. When he climbed back up to his seat, she was wearing a sheepish expression on her face, strangely focused on pouring tea into two cups.

"I was in a bookslide the other day," she finally admitted after a moment of silence.

"What is a bookslide?"

"Like a landslide, except with books. I came up with the word myself."

"I see…" That explained why she had been watching that stack so closely earlier. She had probably been trying to prevent a repeat incident. But a _bookslide_?

"Do you think _novelanche_ is catchier? I was considering that one too," she asked after placing a cup before him, as if she had heard his thought.

"Well… Which one do you prefer?"

The girl tapped her chin thoughtfully, considering his question. "I think I like both words. In fact, I'm going to start slipping them into daily conversations until everyone starts using them!" she declared with a grin.

Lily smiled as well. Inwardly, he thought that Levy was probably the only person in the guild who would ever _need_ to use those words. He pictured the petite girl accidentally knocking over one of her leaning towers of books and becoming trapped underneath a mountain of dusty tomes. If the amount of scuffs and depressions on her floor was any indication, this was a common occurrence.

"Would you like more tea?" her voice interrupted his thoughts.

Looking down, he realized that he had finished his drink. Slightly abashed, he held out the cup. "If you wouldn't mind."

Levy nodded and picked up the teapot. When she leaned over to take his cup, she commented, "Your fur seems especially glossy tonight."

Surprised, Lily thanked her for the compliment, and quickly followed it up with a question. "So, what do you like to do in your spare time?"

He winced at how obvious the attempt at a subject change sounded, but it couldn't be helped. Although it had only been a casual remark, he needed to steer the conversation in a different direction before any more questions were asked about his fur. How it came to be so soft and shiny was not information he wished to disclose.

Luckily, Levy didn't appear to suspect anything about the sudden topic change, and eagerly jumped into a talk about her beloved literature. As they discussed their various hobbies, Lily idly wondered what Gajeel was doing at this time. Playing with his metal contraptions, no doubt—and he told Levy as much when she asked.

* * *

After eating dinner alone, Gajeel chose to do something that would keep his hands busy. After all, it was still too early to turn in, and there was no point going outside just to get soaked. Clearing off the kitchen table, he began to tinker with some gadgets he had collected over the week, taking them apart, figuring out how they worked, and then putting them back together—as well as occasionally popping a few pieces in his mouth as a snack.

This activity occupied his attention for a couple hours, but he eventually grew bored. Once that happened, he tidied up the area and retired to his room. Falling into bed, large arms crossed beneath his head as he stared despondently at the dark ceiling. Messing with the gizmos had been a good distraction, but with nothing else to do, he couldn't help but feel distinctly abandoned—it was hard not to in this situation.

Lily had been going out a lot lately, ever since Magnolia had entered its rainy season. His cat hated this type of weather, and frankly he was beginning to as well. He didn't mind the wind and the rain so much. As annoying as they were, they were a welcome change to the heat and humidity. What bugged him was the fact that Lily had been spending less time with him lately because of the accompanying thunder and lightning.

Gajeel understood his reasons, of course. He didn't need heightened senses to know that the thin walls around him were far from soundproof. Then again, he wasn't the one afraid of rumbles in the sky. Normally, his cat would curl up in a ball beneath a pillow until it was over, which was neither comfortable nor effective. But up at Fairy Hills, he didn't have to do that. He could sit right out in the open and act as if there wasn't even a thunderstorm raging outside. It was steps above hiding under a pillow—of course he'd rather spend his time there.

Gajeel sighed, realizing there was no point being jealous. Even though it felt like other people got to spend more time with his cat than he did these days, he couldn't begrudge Lily his safety and peace of mind. In the end, that's what really mattered. He could sleep easier too, knowing that at least there wasn't an old bat with a hundred cats trying to add the Exceed to her collection.

Thunder boomed outside as Gajeel suddenly shot up in bed, mind racing. Hadn't Lily told him one of the girls there kept an entire farm in her room? What if she wanted to make his cat a permanent part of her zoo?

Gajeel cursed, becoming increasingly convinced that everyone was after his cat.


	3. Robot

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

**Robot:**

It was a typical day at the Fairy Tail guild hall, which meant a lot of drunken revelry that would rapidly devolve into a lot of drunken brawls—all before noon. And of course, it was noisy as hell. Although being at the guild hall for more than two hours at a time had given him headaches his first few weeks in this world, Lily had slowly adjusted to Fairy Tail's unique ambiance.

The girl who sat across the table from him looked up from the book she had been reading. "Hey, Lily?"

The company wasn't so bad either, the cat thought. "Yes, Levy?"

"I've been wondering, why have I never seen you flying around with Gajeel?"

Lily tilted his head in a quizzical manner. "I'm not sure I understand the question."

"Well, Happy is always carrying Natsu around in the air, especially during battles. Charle does it with Wendy too, sometimes. But I don't think I've ever seen you flying with Gajeel."

"Ah," he said, comprehension dawning. "There's actually a very good reason for that." Levy leaned in closer to hear the answer. "I try to avoid it as much as possible, because he's too heavy."

Levy's eyes widened in surprise. "Sure, Gajeel is bigger than either Natsu or Wendy, but he can't be that heavy, can he? And you're a lot stronger than the average Exceed."

Lily smiled, pleased by her comment. "He's a lot heavier than he looks. All that iron he eats weighs a ton."

She appeared to consider this piece of information. "But he doesn't ever appear to put on any weight. Where does he put it all?"

Lily watched as Levy appeared to consider her own question. A moment later, he saw her bite her lip while an amused sparkle lit up her eyes.

"What is it?" he asked, curious to know what had caused this reaction.

"Oh, nothing," Levy waved a hand dismissively. "I was just thinking… What if Gajeel was actually a robot? You know, a mechanical man made out of metal. It would explain so much." She dissolved into giggles.

"Oh? Do tell," Lily said.

"Well," she inched closer to share her theory, "he's just made to appear human on the outside. His iron dragon scales are part of his true form. Being made of metal is how he's able to turn parts of his body into the material. And he would have a storage bin on the inside, instead of the usual organs, to keep all the iron he eats."

"He would also need a voice box," Lily added.

"And a voice box," Levy agreed. "One that is perpetually set to maximum volume."

It was true. Gajeel could be awfully loud without even realizing it, although Lily had noticed that it was mostly around Natsu when the yelling got really out of hand.

"What else?" Levy pondered, tapping her chin.

* * *

Gajeel strode into the guild hall at one in the afternoon. Giving the room a once-over, he was pleased to see that it was mostly people he recognized from the guild, even if he didn't know all their names. The tavern could get pretty hectic sometimes, since it was open to the public for lunch and dinner. If he had arrived an hour or two earlier during the rush, he would have been stuck in a room packed with people he didn't know, all of them invading his personal space. Since he didn't like people as a general rule, he preferred to avoid the establishment during the busier hours, and only made appearances when he was sure the place was fairly empty.

"Hey, scrap metal idiot!" Natsu ran over to him. "I heard you really _are_ made out of scrap metal!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you being a robot, of course! You did a pretty good job keeping it secret for so long, but I know the truth now!"

Gajeel could only stare at Natsu blankly, trying to comprehend the words that had just come from the other's mouth. It was like the person had spoken in a foreign language.

Natsu raised his fists and shouted, "Fight me, Gajeel!" No response. "Come on! I've never fought a robot before. Fight me!"

Gajeel didn't like the strange gleam in the other dragon slayer's eyes, and decided this was one confrontation he'd rather avoid. "No," he said, shoving past Natsu to walk toward the bar.

"Why not?" Natsu demanded, grabbing the stool next to him.

"Because I don't know what you're talking about and you're creeping the hell outta me," he growled.

Gajeel motioned for the barmaid to bring him his usual. The woman behind the counter placed a set of utensils in front of him before heading back to the kitchen to place the order. He was just beginning to think Natsu had been quiet for too long when the fire dragon slayer spoke up again.

"So you're not going to fight me because I'm creeping you out?"

"That's right," he said, snacking on a spoon while he waited.

A sly grin spread across Natsu's face. "Is that just another way of saying you're scared?"

There was an audible crack as the utensil snapped between Gajeel's teeth. He turned in his seat and glowered at the other dragon slayer, who was grinning from ear to ear.

Before Gajeel could think the action over, his fist had connected with Natsu's jaw, sending the mage hurtling through the air and into a table. The table's previous occupants had managed to scramble away in time to avoid being crushed by the flying mage. They watched as Natsu jumped back up, fire shooting from his mouth in his excitement.

Gajeel barely had time to roll his eyes before Natsu bounded over and countered with a punch to the stomach. The air rushed out of Gajeel's lungs as he doubled over, but he managed to lock Natsu's arm in the crook of his elbow as he delivered his own punch to the gut. Natsu gasped, a stream of fire escaping with the air. The flames went over Gajeel's head, but stray tendrils lingered on the long strands, catching his hair on fire.

"Damn it, Salamander! Don't you know how to control your power?" Gajeel yelled, releasing the mage to put out the fire on his head.

The commotion attracted the attention of the rowdier mages in the room, and they headed over to the bar to join in the tussle. Pretty soon, it had become a mass of limbs punching and kicking anything they could hit.

* * *

As Lily and Levy watched the fight from the opposite side of the tavern, the Exceed noticed that Fairy Tail brawls were a lot like tornadoes. They roved the area, sucking in everyone and everything in its path, and occasionally spat them back out; eventually, enough people grew bored or got knocked out that the force lost momentum, during which time the fight fizzled and died.

When that happened, they saw Gajeel extricate himself from the pile of bodies across the room. He limped over to their table, breaking up their conversation with grumbles about fire-breathing idiots and crazy guild mages. Lily wrinkled his nose at the smell of singed hair that lingered on his person.

"Are you okay?" Levy asked.

"I'm fine." She looked at Gajeel's leg in concern as he grabbed an empty chair and sat down. "It'll be gone by morning."

Lily was aware of his friend's speed for recovery, and therefore not too worried about the various cuts and bruises. He was more upset by the lack of damage to Gajeel's hair. They had witnessed the moment when his head caught on fire, and a small part of him had hoped that it would warrant a haircut. When that hope was crushed, he cursed Natsu for his poor aim.

"What happened?"

"Salamander was picking a fight. Damn idiot somehow got it into his empty head that I was a freaking robot."

Lily saw understanding dawn on the girl across from him.

Levy clapped a hand to her mouth. "I've got to go. Hope you feel better. Bye!" she uttered quickly before turning around and dashing away, her shoulders visibly shaking.

Lily thought she was probably going off to a private corner to laugh. He couldn't blame her; the fact had raised his spirits as well. Perhaps if they instigated a few more fights on Gajeel's behalf, his dream could be realized yet.

The cat immediately wiped all traces of amusement from his face when Gajeel turned back to him with a bemused expression.

"The hell is her problem?" Gajeel asked.

"I'm not sure," he replied casually, struggling to keep the laughter at bay.

Gajeel frowned, but dropped the subject when his food arrived. As Gajeel dug into his meal, Lily's eyes roamed the tavern, taking in the broken furniture and unconscious members all over the floor, and deemed it just another typical day at Fairy Tail.


	4. Revenge

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

**Revenge: **

Lily's right eye twitched spasmodically as he stared down at the mess at the bottom of the shower. This was the third day in a row he'd had to deal with this problem, and he was getting fed up.

"Gajeel!" he yelled from inside the bathroom. "How many times must I tell you to pick your hair out of the drain after your shower?"

"Like you're one to talk," Gajeel responded, his voice equally loud, easily heard through the door.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You know, with all your hairballs everywhere—clogging the drain, littering the floor..."

"I do not… how dare you insinuate… I am not a common housecat!" Lily spluttered at last.

The loud laughter that answered only served to annoy him further.

Grimacing, Lily reached down to pick up the wet strands of hair that lay on the shower drain before hurriedly flinging them into the trash receptacle. The Exceed could handle anything in the battlefield, from gaping wounds to dismembered limbs; but for some reason, he just couldn't stand clumps of hair—the way they clung to him when wet; the almost slimy feel to them; the way they blocked the dirty water from draining, allowing it to build up at the bottom of the shower. It made him shudder just thinking about it, and having to pick up his friend's portion in addition to his own was more than unfair.

When he had first moved in with Gajeel and discovered the man's annoying habit of leaving his ridiculously long strands of hair in the drain after showers, Lily had told the dragon slayer to clean it up. Gajeel had complied, and Lily had thought that was that—until the bad habit resurfaced only a few days later. But it had been early in their relationship yet, and he had thought he could condition Gajeel to drop his horrible tendency and take up a new, better practice.

A month in, with no results to show for his patience, Lily decided more drastic measures would need to be taken.

"As if I would ever do something so undignified," Lily muttered crossly as his thoughts returned to the recent insult, no longer bothering to shout; the other's heightened hearing probably made it unnecessary anyhow. With that in mind, he directed a few muttered curses Gajeel's way. The ensuing laughter from outside confirmed his suspicions.

Still muttering crossly, he turned on the water and pulled the curtain closed. As the water washed over him, he contemplated the best strategy for curing his friend of his unpleasant practice. He supposed they could always battle it out again like they had back in Edolas, allow their fists to do the talking, so to speak, like two proper warriors. He filed the idea away for further consideration.

After Lily got out of the shower, he was roped into brushing Gajeel's still damp hair. They took up their usual spots at the table and settled into their normal routine. Every few seconds, the dragon slayer would protest the unnecessary tugging that was being inflicted upon his poor scalp.

Lily was adamant, however, and showed no sympathy. "You're lucky I even agreed to do this. A common housecat wouldn't have to," he told Gajeel, yanking on the brush for emphasis.

Gajeel winced, but didn't voice any more complaints. He supposed he had suffered worse than a cat pulling on his hair. He nodded grudgingly, admitting it was a fair point. He might have thought differently if he had seen the glint in Lily's eyes at that time.

The remainder of the night was uneventful. When Gajeel decided to turn in for the night, Lily bid him good night. When the man disappeared into his bedroom, Lily sprang off his seat, landing lithely on padded paws in true feline fashion.

Carefully, he began going through all the junk accumulated in the apartment, searching for adequate materials for what he had in mind. Junk metal comprised most of the cluttered piles that were everywhere, but he persisted. It would be best if he could find what he wanted tonight; but if necessary, he would put it off until the next day, after he'd had a chance to run to the store.

After sifting through several cubbies of useless items, he was just about to give up when he finally found something suitable for his purpose. They were a bit dirty, but after he wiped away the coat of dust, they lost their lackluster quality to reveal the shine beneath. It would do.

Lily retreated to his room and climbed into bed. Lying down on the soft surface, he pulled the blanket up to his chin, prepared to rest until the appropriate time.

After several hours had passed from the time Gajeel and he had turned in for the night, Lily got out of bed and made his way outside. He turned down the hall and quietly slipped inside Gajeel's room. While his friend slept, Lily climbed up the bedpost and landed lightly on the mattress. He surveyed the man lying on his side for a moment.

Satisfied by the snores that indicated Gajeel was actually asleep, Lily commenced his revenge. He crept to the pillow where his friend's head rested and crawled over to the other side for better access. His night vision aided him in carrying out his mission, his paws moving with practiced precision. Lily froze when he felt Gajeel stirred, holding his breath until he was certain the dragon slayer was not about to wake.

When he assessed that the danger had passed, he resumed his task, being careful not to disturb the other. The process was taking more time than he had anticipated, but the end result would be well worth the sleep loss. If Gajeel's usual grooming habits were any indication, he wouldn't notice anything was wrong in the morning, and phase one of Lily's plan would have been a success.

Finishing touches complete, Lily allowed himself a moment to admire the finished product, simultaneously thanking the heavens Gajeel had slept like a rock the entire time. A large yawn told him it was long past the time for bed; complying, he returned to his large, comfortable bed for some much-deserved rest.

Lily could still feel the smile on his face as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The two companions entered the guild hall the next day to the usual ruckus. As they walked further into the building, however, a hush fell over the members, starting from those closest to the entrance and spreading further back with each step they took.

The silence was Gajeel's first hint that something was wrong. A silent Fairy Tail mage was usually a drunk and passed out Fairy Tail mage, but a quick scan around the bar told him no one appeared to be unconscious yet. The second hint came when the sniggering started, quietly at first, but pretty soon it seemed to fill every corner of the room. And it couldn't be just a coincidence that all this had occurred when he and Lily arrived.

Gajeel looked at the nearby tables, but every time he made eye contact with the other members, they quickly averted their eyes.

Suspicions aroused, Gajeel growled low in his throat, "Somebody want to tell me what the hell you're all snickering at?"

Gajeel's frown deepened as everyone suddenly became very interested in the whorls on the table or the floorboards at their feet. If only the loud ones were here—they would tell him what was going on. Unfortunately, they were nowhere to be seen.

From within the crowd, however, he spotted a head of blue hair winding its way between the tables. Crossing his arms, he glowered at the surrounding mages, trying to intimidate an answer from them while Wendy slowly edged her way to the front.

"Um… Gajeel?" She stood directly in front of him now, peering up at him shyly. She seemed her usual timid self, but apparently refused to back away.

"What is it?" he asked.

Wendy winced a little at the gruff tone, but continued nonetheless. She pointed a small finger up at him and asked, "Will you teach me how to braid my hair like that too?"

"What?" This was not what he had expected to hear.

"I-I'd like to learn how to braid my hair so I can put shiny ribbons in it like yours."

The room had become silent as the grave; wide-eyed stares became trained on the two dragon slayers in the front.

A long moment passed as he tried to determine if this was some sort of practical joke the girl had come up with. She _looked_ earnest enough, with her bright brown eyes and timid smile, but he knew looks could be deceiving. She didn't look it, but the girl could do some serious damage if she put her mind to it. Who was to say she didn't also have a side that enjoyed messing with people? That had to be it. She was playing a joke on him, and everyone else was in on it, because the only other possibility was—

No. It couldn't be.

With mounting trepidation, Gajeel raised a hand slowly to the back of his head. Bringing the appendage down, it wasn't a mass of free strands that his fingers encountered, but ropes of them arranged in some sort of pattern. As his hand followed the trail downward, it eventually reached something different—a soft material knotted at the end. Pulling it out, Gajeel brought the material forward to examine.

Lying in his palm was a pink—_pink_—ribbon that most definitely did not belong there. The sight left him at a loss for words.

"Oh no, it's coming apart."

Wendy's lament pulled Gajeel out of his stupor. He grabbed the nearest chair, booted the person who was in it to the floor, and sat down. The table's other occupants quickly vacated the area, lest they got caught up in any potential retribution. With his back to the girl, he ordered her to undo the atrocity on his head.

"Why?" Wendy asked. "It must have taken a lot of time to do all of this."

He cringed, not wanting to think about what exactly _all of this_ comprised. Who knew what other horrors had been inflicted upon his head without his knowing—it was best not to ask.

It was just as well that the rest of the guild remained quiet; he wasn't sure he could control himself if he heard any comments anyone might have felt it necessary to voice. Of course, that also meant that all ears were strained to catch his every word.

"I didn't do it," he said, shooting an accusatory glare at his cat.

"You're welcome," Lily said, not bothering to feign innocence—it wasn't as if he had any reason to hide the fact.

"It's so pretty! You did a great job, Lily!" Wendy exclaimed.

"Thank you," Lily replied, smirking as he felt his partner's irritation increase tenfold. He didn't say anything else, but was in fact a bit disappointed to see his hard work being slowly unwound by Wendy; however, she appeared just as saddened about it.

"Where did you learn to braid hair so well?" she asked.

Lily smiled in satisfaction as he saw Gajeel bristle in annoyance beside him. Turning his attention to the girl, he told her, "Back on Edolas, there was a young girl who would often have me fix her hair for her. I wasn't very good at first, but she was always very happy with the results, and I improved with practice."

Gajeel snorted.

"That's so sweet," Wendy sighed. Staring at Gajeel's long black locks somewhat enviously, she went on, "Will you help me with mine sometime too?"

"It would be my pleasure, Wendy," Lily replied.

"Oh, for the love of—" Gajeel got out of his seat, half-loosened pink ribbons trailing down his back as he stomped toward the exit, shooting death glares at anyone who dared to glance his way.

When the doors slammed behind him, everyone else let out a sigh of relief and immediately began discussing the latest incident involving the iron dragon slayer. Lily made the observation that apparently Gajeel and pink had a history together, as a few people recalled the time shortly following his initiation into Fairy Tail and the entire guild had borne witness to the image of him in a dress, courtesy of Mirajane; this led to an argument over which event was more embarrassing for the dragon slayer.

The rest of the day passed in typical Fairy Tail fashion.


End file.
